The first recorded references to emergency medical treatment are associated with injuries sustained in battle, dating back to ancient Egyptian surgical texts from 3000 BC. The Greek physician Hippocrates (ca. 460-377 BC), for whom the doctor's Hippocratic Oath is named, advised his disciples, “He who would become a surgeon, let him join an army and follow it.” In the 1st century AD, Plutarch wrote of ancient Spartan mothers giving their sons their first shields, and admonishing them to return from battle “with this or on it”. This was perhaps the first reference to the use of devices for transporting casualties, as laminated Spartan shields were certainly large and strong enough to serve as battlefield stretchers.
The use of stretchers, and the heroism of stretcher bearers, is well documented in more recent times. While the stretchers themselves were canvas stretched on wooden frames rather than Spartan shields, the histories of the U.S. Civil War and WWI in particular are rife with accounts of the bravery and resolve of stretcher bearers.
Today, the need to transport patients with injuries is most often a civilian concern. Just as modern EMT personnel have available training and technology that would have been unimaginable a few generations ago, the simple stretcher has given way to spine boards and similar devices designed to be rigid, and lightweight while immobilizing the patient as required for transport.
Modern patient transport devices, in the form of stretchers and spine boards, have developed along with advances in materials and construction techniques, many of which are reflected in the patent literature. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,883,195 to Gustavsen is directed to a patient support apparatus having a back board receiving unit including a base portion having a back board receiving pocket formed therein and a footrest portion extending from the base portion; and a back board removably received in the back board receiving pocket. The back board support may include a locking apparatus to secure the backboard to the patient support.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,845,533 to Tulette shows a patient transport board comprising a flat, rigid board having a surface on which the patient lays and restraining straps for securing the patient. A pair of foldable rail members can be extended to serve as runners for moving the patient down a flight of stairs. A skid plate is provided at the foot end of the board to allow the board to be used in an upright mode for maneuvering in tight areas. In one embodiment wheel and axle assemblies are affixed at the lower end of the rail members to make easier movement of the patient transport board in an upright orientation. In another embodiment track assemblies allow for movement over rough or uneven surfaces when the patient transport board is in an upright orientation. Components of the patient transport board are foldable or removable so the board can be readily placed on a gurney or stored.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,357,063 to Selby deals with a wheeled dolly assembly for a patient carrier device having a box frame with a foldable footrest. Interchangeable wheels are mounted to an axle to facilitate rapid and easy movement of the dolly when a patient is strapped onto the patient carrier. The patient carrier device, such as a backboard, is retained in the box frame with adjustable pressure plates. Optional handles are mounted to the backboard through slots pre-formed in the backboard.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,220 to Lombard involves a dolly type apparatus, which would include a body portion having four wall portions, and defining a substantially rectangular opening therein, into which a typical spine board may be slid into the opening. The body portion further includes a pair of wheels, for allowing the body portion to be rolled onto a surface; there is further included a shelf member extending substantially out of the lower end of the body portion, onto which a patient placed on the spine board may rest his or her feet during transport; there is further provided strap members which extend from a first forward wall of the body portion through a pair of openings in the spine board and would reattach on the rear wall of the body portion for maintaining the spine board held in place in the opening in the body portion, so that a patient who is strapped to the spine board and whose feet are resting on the shelf member, may be raised substantially to the vertical position and the spine board may be rolled through tight passageways, during transport without affecting the stability or movement of the patient being transported.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,746 to Rogers discloses a stretcher operated by one or more persons for transporting an injured patient and including a body board for supporting a patient's upper legs and body, a slide member received within the body board and extendible selected distances therefrom, and a base portion connected to the slide member opposite the body board for supporting a patient's feet and ankles. The body board has a pair of protective skids which slide on a subjacent supporting surface with the skids supporting the body board and base portion a selected distance above the supporting surface. Wheels rotatably connected to the base portion support the stretcher when the stretcher is tilted relative to the supporting surface such that an individual may transport a patient on the stretcher. The wheels are supported above the skids and thus do not interfere with the sliding movement thereof. A pivotal foot rest is connected to the base portion and supports the patient when the stretcher is tilted about a transverse axis. Straps are provided to secure the patient to the stretcher and support the patient when the stretcher is tilted. An elongated handle assembly is pivotally connected to a selected end of the stretcher for controlling the sliding motion thereof down a steep incline. Flotation apparatus, detachably and reattachably connected to the body board, provide means for supporting the body board and a patient when the body board is placed in water. Apparatus for securing an oxygen tank to the stretcher is also provided and includes a transparent cover for isolating portions of the oxygen tank from the patient's body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,982 to Hein includes a spine board having a detachably positionable foot support assembly to prevent the individual from sliding off of the spine board when it is raised to a substantially vertical position, or a wheel assembly which is removably affixed to the spine board so that the spine board can be easily transported by one person by wheeling it, or both.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,462,186 to Kessling is directed to a wheeled support for a patient in a body cast having a transverse rod connecting leg portions of the cast which includes a backing board, a transverse support mounted on the backing board for engaging and supporting the rod, wheels for supporting the backing board and means for supporting the backing board in an upright position with the wheels raised off the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,607,050 to Binschoff shows a device adapted for the removal of an inert invalid from the bed in order that the patient may be placed in an erect or semi-erect position to alleviate the possibility of bed pneumonia or circulatory complications due to inactivity. The patient is strapped to the device so that the patient will be supported at several locations and will be held erect as the device is turned on end so that the patient's weight can be taken by the foot board which is hinged upwardly and supported. Wheels may be applied to the device to permit the transport of the patient outdoors for sunlight or other distant points from the bed.
Although the arrangements described in these patents provide certain advantages, they present certain deficiencies as well. For example, known patient transport devices are often difficult to maneuver around corners in narrow interior passageways. Further, many of these devices require at least two persons to lift and carry a patient. It can thus be seen that the need exists for a simple, efficient, and easily manufactured patient transport support.